The 2025 Big Ten Men’s Wrestling Championships came to a close with the conclusion of the fourth session on Sunday, Mar. 9, at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. The final score featured Penn State in first with 181.5 points, Nebraska in second with 137, and Iowa in third with 112.
The champion Penn State team had six finalists coming into the championship round and left with five champions. The other team in real contention for the first place spot, Nebraska, entered with four finalists, with two coming out on top, their two championship losses coming at the hands of Penn State.
Iowa sat in the third place spot with three wrestlers competing in the finals. All three would fall. No.1 133-pound Drake Ayala went down first, losing to Illinois’ No.2 Lucas Byrd via fall. Iowa No.2 165-pound Mike Caliendo lost in a tough 4-1 match against Penn State No.1 Mitchell Mesenbrink. Iowa’s No.1 undefeated 197-pound Stephen Buchanan lost in the championships to Michigan’s No.3 Jacob Cardenas 4-2.
Other Hawkeyes wrestling in session four included 174-pound Patrick Kennedy and 184-pound Gabe Arnold, who both won their fifth-place match. 149-pound Kyle Parco was defeated 13-0 in his third-place match with Penn State’s Shayne Van Ness. Ben Kueter competed in and won his third-place matchup.
Teams will look onward to the NCAA Championships on Mar. 20, 21, and 22 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. Iowa will wrestle at 8/10 weight classes, not qualifying at 141 and 125, which will require a potential at-large bid.
